


Shelton Station

by Freebooter4Ever



Category: The Pacific (TV)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Eugene is very protective, Fluff, Gas Station AU, Getting Together, M/M, Period-Typical Homophobia, Post-Canon Fix It, Road Trip, Snafu overcomes it, canon complaint, set after the Train Incident
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-18 22:08:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29497065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Freebooter4Ever/pseuds/Freebooter4Ever
Summary: After the war Eugene and Snaf start up a little gas station on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere - the kind of place where people only stop because they’re running out of gas and have fifty miles to go. Where no one bothers them so they don’t bother anybody. Inside they sell the weirdest shit Snafu can find or make or sometimes cobble together. And Eugene has a miniature library of bird guides, half of which he probably traded fellow bird enthusiast customers who were low on gas for. And Snafu has a boat - but they’re making enough money from the shop that he only has to fish if he wants to.
Relationships: Merriell "Snafu" Shelton/Eugene Sledge
Comments: 10
Kudos: 23





	1. First Kiss

**Author's Note:**

> This will be a long one! Spanning from the time Eugene and Snafu start a romantic relationship, till they settle down together and run a gas station up in central Oregon, in the middle of the woods, where family can't find them. I just wanted to write them out a whole life together.

The second half of their story begins with road trips. Snafu shows up on Eugene's doorstep one morning in the late August heat - hat in hand and heart on his sleeve.

"Come take a drive with me?" Snafu asks, looking half terrified of the answer.

Eugene grabs him, pulls Snafu into his arms, and holds him till he doesn't need to anymore.

The hug takes a while and afterwards Eugene agrees to a road trip. He packs a suitcase and the two of them drive for days, stopping wherever and whenever they feel like it.

During one of their stops for gas in the middle of the Utah desert Eugene decides to kiss Snafu for the first time.

Eugene is sitting on top of an air tank with a good view of his surroundings. As far as the eye can see, there's nothing and nobody else around - except for the tiny gas station they parked at and the red mountains in the distance. The station attendant sleeps in a chair under the cool shade of an umbrella on the opposite side of the house when not on duty. There's no one to see Eugene and Snafu, or anything they might get up to.

Snafu fills their tank with gas, and fills all four tires with air ("You can never be too careful in the desert, Sledgehammer"). Prior to this, Eugene didn't even know someone had to put air in tires to keep a car running smooth. Or that driving through a lonely desert might be more dangerous than other areas. Eugene is grateful for Snafu's expertise. He doesn't want to end up walking a hundred miles to the next station if they run out.

When Snafu's done with the truck he sits next to Eugene atop the air pump. It's a tight squeeze, and really Eugene probably shouldn't have been sitting up here in the first place - there's a lone table and chairs five feet away. But Eugene had wanted the best bird's-eye view of Snafu's ass bending over to check the air in each tire. He never expected Snafu to join his perch.

"My father ran a little gas station like this for a few years," Snafu comments, "Except it was in a swamp, 'stead of a desert." He smirks, like it's a joke.

"Really?" Eugene asks in interest. Snafu never answers questions about his family, and rarely offers it up in conversation.

"Yeah," he replies, "The few golden memories of my childhood. Lots of interesting people coming and going, tons of odd jobs for me to do to make money as a kid. Learned the ins and outs of car engines. It was never dull on that corner."

"Where was it?" Eugene asks.

"North of New Orleans," Snafu says, "It's all burned down now. I saw the remains after the war. The fire had nothing to do with the war, just poverty."

"Snaf…" Eugene starts with regret in his voice.

"Don't," Snafu cuts him off, "It's fine."

They're pressed comfortably together on the air tank, without much room to move. Snafu lights a smoke and tilts his head back to enjoy the sun. A move so reminiscent of their dreary hot days on Peleliu that it makes Eugene pause.

Is this why Snafu disappeared on him? Because Eugene makes the war feel as real for Snafu as Snafu does for him? Do they have no place together here on the other side of things?

"Easier to breathe in the desert than in the damn humidity of the south," Snafu comments. He stares off in the distance at the mountains.

Eugene doesn't bother with the scenery. He watches Snafu instead. The pretty way Snafu's lips move around the cigarette, the smooth line of his jaw. He thinks Snafu might have better luck breathing if he gave up the smoking.

"Snaf, can you put that cigarette down for a minute?" Eugene asks.

"Why?" Snafu turns to him with a confused look on his face. He doesn't put the cigarette down. He sounds as dumbfounded as all those years ago when Eugene first informed Snafu that he didn't smoke.

"So I can kiss you," Eugene says. He tries to keep his voice calm. He doesn't think Snafu will freak out and leave him stranded in the desert, but all the same.

At first Snafu shows no response. His eyes track across Eugene's face for a minute. And then he quickly turns away to flick the cigarette onto the ground. He pauses for a half second, admiring the ground, as if considering his next move. Then in one swift motion, shifts back to Eugene, slides his hands into Eugene's hair, and plants a kiss on him.

The kiss is quick, and hard, and feels like something out of the movies. Eugene holds Snafu's elbows at first, but then Snafu lets go of Eugene's hair, drops his arms, and they link hands.

Snafu leans back enough to see Gene's face. They sit there quietly for a little while, just looking at each other. Snafu keeps eyeing Eugene's lips as if he might want to try again, but there's something unsaid holding Eugene back. Eugene doesn't know what it is. Perhaps the suddenness of it all - one minute Merriell Shelton is nothing but a memory, a war buddy which isn't even quite a 'best friend'...and the next minute he's the only thing Eugene wants in the world. Whatever it is that's holding Gene back, it scares him.

Snafu leans even farther away, tilts his chin up with a lascivious grin, and announces, "I'm gonna be kissing you forever now, Sledgehammer. You've started a habit."

That was it.

Eugene grabs Snafu, and kisses him the way he originally intended to do it - gentle, and slow, and maybe a little teasing. A promise.

"Do you mean it?" Eugene asks between kisses.

"Yes," Snafu answers readily.

"I don't know if I can trust you," Eugene admits.

Snafu pulls away again.

"I trust you with my life, of course I do," Eugene continues, "But…" Eugene doesn't know how to say it. 'I don't trust you with my heart' seems so trite.

"How do I prove it?" Snafu asks seriously.

"With time...maybe?" Eugene says, unable to come up with any other explanation, "I don't know. You're the one with more experience here."

"What makes you think I have more experience?" Snafu studies him intently.

"The way you look at me sometimes," Eugene says, his voice uncertain, as if it's a question, "like you know exactly what you're doing. Like you're waiting for it to happen. Whatever…'it'...is."

Snafu's face breaks into a wide smile, "And what...you're curious about the things I know?"

"Snaf, be serious," Eugene complains.

"All right," Snafu hops off the air tank and stands in front of Eugene. He puts his hands on Eugene's knees. He's still smiling like a loon. "What if I promise to never disappear on you again without asking for your permission first?"

"That sounds ridiculous," Eugene scoffs, "I don't want to force you to do anything. I just want to be included in the choices you make, and to include you in mine."

"You got it, Sledgehammer," Snafu says, "Cross my heart." He leans in between Eugene's legs - closer and closer.

Eugene raises his hand up between their chests and sticks his little finger out.

Snafu stares, smile gone. "What?" he asks.

"Pinky swear," Eugene says.

Snafu casts his eyes to the sky, "Are you twelve?"

"Pinky swear is sacrosanct, Shelton," Eugene insists with conscious naivete, "If you swear to me you will loop me in on your big life decisions, this'll practically be like taking an oath on a bible."

"Okay, boy scout," Snafu stares at Eugene's finger for another beat before linking it with his own and giving their hands a shake. "You and that bible of yours, Gene."

"You damn well know I kept the bible around during the war mostly for the writing," Eugene says with a smile, "I'm not as religious as you make me sound."

"Yeah," Snafu agrees. He props himself up with his elbows against the air tank and on either side of Eugene's thighs and pushes his face into Eugene's chest, "And god knows, you sure picked up all my swearing habits by the end of the war. Remember that night in China?"

Eugene chuckles and runs a hand through Snafu's curly hair, "Think I made even Burgie blush that day."

"Boy, you were inventing new combinations of swear words I never even heard before," Snafu smiles up at him beguilingly, as if creative profanity is an admirable trait.

Eugene can feel his cheeks heating up. Snafu's compliments have always been abundant, but there's an extra tone to his voice now. Feeling a little giddy, Eugene bends down to draw Snafu into another kiss.

Snafu grins into the kiss, like he's won the lottery. All traces of his fear and hesitancy showing up at Eugene's door are gone. Something fundamental has changed between them. And Eugene feels as if a huge weight's been lifted. Like maybe now the future can make sense as something other than an abstract world he exists apart from.

Eugene's fantasies are going haywire. He's got Snafu's head between his hands, and Snafu's bony waist between his thighs, and Snafu's lips being uncooperative and giggly instead of focusing on kissing like they should be. And the only stuff popping into Eugene's head are images of a little porch, with a little swing, and the two of them together, lazily watching life go on around them. Life could be beautiful, like his mother always said it would be for him.

Eugene's visions of domestic bliss are abruptly shattered when they're interrupted by the only other person within a hundred miles radius of them yelling obscenities.


	2. Bringing Snafu Home

"Hey! Get off my tank, get off my property!" the gas station attendant yells.

Eugene just sighs. He pulls Snafu in even tighter to his chest and takes a deep breath.

The man swears violently at them, using a number of slurs that would make Eugene's mother faint.

"Shit the old jackass's awake!" Snafu looks behind Eugene's back at the man running towards them, "He reminds me of my ma. Skinny and foul mouthed."

"And angry," Eugene comments.

"He's got a gun!" Snafu warns, his voice suddenly tight, and he jumps to action. Snafu hops off the air tank and runs to the car, pulling Eugene along behind him.

"Shit…" Eugene glances back to see that the crazy middle aged man is indeed waving a firearm.

"Do we disarm him?" Snafu asks.

"Not worth it," Eugene says and picks up the pace, "We just drive. C'mon."

"Bet he thought I was giving you a blow job right there in public," Snafu grins, "My head was at about the right level for it."

"No time for your jokes, Snafu," Eugene retorts, his focus on the guy with the gun.

Snaf darts towards the driver's seat but Eugene grabs him and manhandles Snafu into the passenger side. "I'm a better driver, Snaf. You know it."

Snafu accepts this with smirking silence, and Eugene smoothly peels out of the gas station and back onto the highway. There's a loud shot that pings against the truck's bumper behind them.

"Fuck, we survive the war, and we come back, and we're still getting shot at," Snafu gripes. He turns around in his seat and sticks his middle finger through the truck's back window.

"Terrible aim though," Eugene comments.

"He'd never make Expert Marksman," Snafu agrees, "Just think - the two of us'd get a court martial in the Marine Corps and thrown in the brig for what we did, and yet they'd take a guy like that without question."

Eugene laughs. It isn't funny. But the absurdity of what they just got away with is heady. When combined with the high heat of the desert, and Snafu's enticing grin turned in Eugene's direction...Eugene feels elated. An invincible mood he never thought he'd feel again.

The truck reaches the end of the valley and starts chugging up one of the red hills. A sign by the side of the road reads 'vista point'. Without warning, and with Snafu's smile burning in his mind, Eugene leans on the steering wheel and careens off the highway onto the dirt frontage road. Dust flies everywhere.

Snafu whoops with joy and braces himself with a hand on the roof of the cab.

Eugene hadn't meant to drive off pavement quite this fast. He almost loses control of the truck. It fishtails a little as he slows his speed during the straightaway. Ahead of them the dirt road twists into the mountains. Eugene spins the truck up the curved dirt road, around the hill in a spiral, and slides to a stop at the peak.

"Wow," Snafu coos in awe, sounding a hell of a lot more aroused with that one word than all of his vague exclamations over pinup girls.

The dust they kicked up settles after a few minutes, and they get their first look at why this barren spot was made a vista point. The mountains are gorgeous, and the sunset is colorful, and being at the peak they command a three hundred sixty degree view of the surrounding valley. Now Eugene knows for certain they are alone.

But none of that beauty holds as much allure as the man sitting next to him. Eugene throws the truck into park, pulls the emergency brake, and then throws himself at Snafu.

Snafu, laughing helplessly underneath Eugene on the bench seat, goes right along with it.

Eugene kisses Snafu for all that he's worth.

The sun sets but Eugene misses it. Snafu wiggles his butt down till he's stretched out flat along the bench seat with his legs propped up against the car door, and he pulls Eugene down with him. Their heads go below the dashboard at that point. They're in their own little world. Gene only notices the sun disappeared when he realizes he can no longer see Snafu's face as well as he'd like.

They spend the rest of the night at the vista point, though they don't do much looking at the view. The only thing Eugene wants to look at is the person right in front of him.

"Thank you," Eugene whispers in the dark. He's got his arms tight around Snafu and his face is pressed into Snafu's shoulder.

"For what?" Snafu asks.

"For coming back for me," Eugene says.

"Aw shit, Sledgehammer. It was you who did that first," Snafu replies.

"Is that what this is?" Eugene asks, "Repayment?"

"No," Snafu answers and holds Eugene tighter, "This is purely selfish."

Once the road trips start they don't end. Every weekend or Friday night Snafu shows up unannounced in Mobile. And every Sunday morning, no matter where they wake up together, Snafu remarks to Eugene, "I'm thinking of going home around 7pm, that sound good?" 

Some days Eugene agrees with Snafu's plan. Other days Eugene convinces Snafu to stay just one night in Mobile and eat dinner all together with his parents. Snafu will never admit it, but Eugene can tell by his broad smiles and energetic storytelling, that these Sunday nights are secretly Snafu's favorite.

After dinner Eugene's parents pretend not to notice when Snafu returns to the same bedroom as Gene. There's something romantic in sharing his own bed with Snafu. Something about seeing Snafu in a place that used to be all Gene's.

"You spend more time looking at me than kissing me," Snafu accuses one night after they've brushed their teeth and crawled under the quilt.

"Not true," Eugene says and leans in to prove it.

Snafu quickly undoes the buttons on Eugene's pajamas that Eugene only just buttoned up.

"Too hot for PJ's," Snafu explains as he shoves Eugene's pajama top off the bed.

Eugene finds he agrees. With his bare chest pressed to Snafu's and their arms and legs wrapped together, there's plenty of heat to go around.

And in between these times - Friday to Sunday - they're on the road.

Snafu purchases a brand new fire red truck expressly for this purpose.

When he's the one driving, Snafu becomes addicted to watching Eugene lean his head and arm out the window of the truck. Eugene closes his eyes and stretches his hand into the wind. There's a smile on his face as his hair blows away from his forehead, and he flexes his fingers to feel the pressure of the air as it goes on by. His hand rolls up and down in a wave, and for a brief moment Eugene becomes as free as the birds he so studiously watches.

They go anywhere, as long they can get there on a long two lane stretch of highway. Sometimes the journey takes hours, sometimes days. They always return to Eugene's home in the end. Eugene believes they will always return home. He can't imagine life anywhere else. With anyone else.

But he prepares for the day they finally don't.


	3. The OMM Ball

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eugene invites Snafu to the ball.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slightly suggestive kissy time under a tree

On the weekend of the OMM ball, Snafu agrees to stay in Mobile for three days instead of making another road trip. Eugene is still the son of the most prominent and beloved doctor in town, and people expect him to attend things like social gatherings.

Of course...Eugene expects the ball to be a bore. And it is.

It also gives Snafu an excuse to wear his dress blues - and boy does he look handsome - but Eugene can't find any pleasure in it. Snafu makes small talk amongst Mobile's high society with an ease that surprises and irritates Eugene. Everyone is impressed by Merriell Shelton's smart uniform and war stories.

Especially the girls.

Snafu asks a number of the women to dance. He never lacks a partner. The line of hopeful girls eyeing him stretches all the way out the door. Well bred southern ladies are not accustomed to Snafu's swing dancing style and jitterbug feet. Between that and the dress blues, Snafu is impossible to resist.

Eugene watches this all unfold while he hides behind a potted plant.

"That could be you, little brother," Edward jokes when he finds him, "Didn't I tell you to wear your uniform?"

"What would I do with all those girls?" Eugene asks sourly, "Even if I wanted them."

Edward laughs. He misses the point completely.

Eugene's father warned him not to explain to Edward about Snafu. Eugene never thought about why till now. With a start, Eugene realizes that his behavior is being read completely wrong. They think he's jealous of the attention Snafu is getting. Not of the attention being given.

Feeling reckless, and daring - because damn it he might not be wearing the uniform now but he certainly spent years earning the right to - Eugene marches up to the dance floor, grabs Snafu's wrist, separates him from the current girl, and marches him outside.

Snafu goes along willingly, grinning all the while.

"I like seeing you get rough, sometimes," Snafu teases.

Eugene ignores him, sits on the low garden wall, and lights his pipe.

"All that jealousy is burning up in you, and making you sweat, I can see drops of it on your forehead," Snafu leans close and sticks his hand inside the collar of Eugene's suit to wipe the back of Eugene's neck clean.

Eugene swats his hand away.

"It's just a dance, Eugene," Snafu sighs, "You know the kind of talk that'd spread if we stepped out onto the dance floor together."

"Why…?" Eugene asks in exasperation, "...if you could have any one of those girls, and a family, and kids...why in God's name would you pick me?"

Snafu stares at him. A quick moment of being caught off guard. And then he sits beside Eugene and tilts his head down to study his own feet intently, refusing to meet Eugene's eyes. "Can't pick who you fall in love with," Snafu says quietly.

"Bullshit," Eugene declares.

Snafu flinches.

"Love has very little to do with the decision to settle down. Compatibility, stability, caring about one another, goals for the future...that's all that matters," Eugene argues.

"If you don't love me, Gene, why'd you drag me out here with you?" Snafu asks.

"I…" Eugene searches for the answer but gets nothing, "I can't watch you…"

"Cant watch me sweat on the dance floor without ending up sweating yourself?" Snafu smiles.

Without thinking Eugene throws caution to the wind, cups the other man's chin, and greedily presses his lips to Snafu's.

"Careful Eugene, there's ladies present," a voice says coming from the house.

"Sid," Snafu greets the man with a short glance and then he puts several inches distance between his body and Eugene's, and he looks out to the gardens.

"I brought you boys some punch, properly spiked," Sid announces and hands them both glasses.

"Thank you," Eugene says politely.

Snafu takes his and drains it in one go.

"You should be dancing," Sid says, all smiles and warmth.

"I was. Didn't you see me?" Snafu says to his empty glass.

"I mean Eugene," Sid says, "I saw you holding up the wall in there, old friend. One dance won't kill you."

"Nope," Eugene grimaces, "This is why I'm still a bachelor. I only dance when Eugene Sledge wants to dance."

"Pretty sure you're a confirmed bachelor because you won't stop fucking your buddy over there," Sid grins, "No offense, Snafu."

"None taken," Snafu says as he swaps his empty glass for Eugene's full one. He drains that too.

Eugene is relieved when Mary comes to drag Sid's ass back to the dance floor. He gets the feeling that if Sid stayed any longer, Sid and Snafu would be on the same side. And somehow that'd make Eugene in the wrong.

Despite being grateful that Sid and Snafu took to each other like flies to shit immediately upon re-introduction, there are times Eugene worries that the two of them together know Eugene better than Eugene knows himself. And they use it to their advantage. Like they're both still taking care of Gene, just as they did in the war.

"So," Snafu says in that obnoxious voice he adopts when he can tell Eugene is in a mood, "Does Eugene Sledge want to dance or does Eugene Sledge want to leave?"

"No, we're not leaving," Eugene says simply, suddenly struck with an idea, "Eugene Sledge wants to dance." He holds his hand out to Snafu.

Snafu takes it, biting his lip to keep from grinning.

And Eugene leads them across the small garden lawn to a giant weeping willow beside the creek. They duck between the branches. It's isolated, quiet, and hidden from view. Eugene stands there for a minute, listening to the crickets. Then he

releases Snafu's hand, marches over to the tree trunk, and sits down hard in the grass.

"Gene?" Snafu asks, "Thought you wanted to dance?"

"Changed my mind," Eugene snaps, "You can go home."

Snafu sighs. He sits down next to Eugene and leans his shoulder into him. "Do you want to go home, Eugene?"

"No."

"Then we'll stay."

"How is this even real?" Eugene demands. He gestures to the party lights and the delicate willow tree branches separating the glow from them.

Snafu tilts his head back to stare into the tree, "I believe it starts with a seed…"

"I mean how did I end up here?" Eugene snaps, not in the mood for Snafu's teasing. "That entire time overseas...I never would have imagined myself in the future cleaned up, dressed nice...dancing?" Eugene says, "Absurd!" He digs his hand into the soft grass till he reaches mud.

"What kind of future did you imagine?" Snafu asks.

"I didn't see one," Eugene says bitterly, "I was supposed to die. Law of averages."

"I knew you'd survive," Snafu counters. He carefully pulls Eugene's hand out of the dirt and into his lap. Snafu untucks his pressed uniform and uses it to gently wipe dirt off Gene's fingers.

"What? How?" Eugene asks, "How could you possibly know that?"

"That was the only future I'd let myself imagine," Snafu says, "You'd live. Be happy. Probably spit out a bunch of red haired babies."

"You were squatting in the mud...imagining me having babies?" Eugene asks incredulously.

Snafu grins in the dark, "A whole gaggle of 'em. And a house with a white picket fence. And a birch tree."

"Snafu, when did you start…?"

"From the minute I sat and watched you sweating over those oil barrels," Snafu answers before he even finishes the question. He kisses Eugene's palm.

"What about your own future?" Eugene asks.

"The only thing I could see in that was the things I wouldn't have," Snafu responds.

"Like?"

"Knew I'd never dance with somebody I loved," Snafu says.

"What do you mean?" Eugene asks.

"A proper slow dance. When you know you're in love and the person you're holding is in love too. Knew I'd never have that," Snafu says. He shrugs carelessly.

Which shines a whole new light on Snafu's enjoyment of the ball.

"Snaf…" Eugene sighs, feeling guilty. He can't deprive Snafu of this chance. He gets to his feet, brushes his pants off, clears his throat and tries to be a gentleman, "Ask me to dance again…once more...please?"

Snafu staggers to his feet next to him and straightens his jacket. He squares his shoulders, sucks in his bottom lip, and looks Eugene up and down, assessing. "Dance with me, Sledgehammer?" he asks.

"Yes," Eugene decides firmly.

They come together naturally. Eugene always considered himself a clumsy dancer but with Snafu everything feels right. It helps that Snafu takes the lead. Snafu knows exactly what he is doing, even with only the faintest sound of music in the distance to guide them. All Eugene has to do is lean in close and enjoy the feeling.

"You've really been interested in me since Pavuvu?" Eugene whispers in Snafu's ear as they dance.

"Yeah," Snafu laughs.

"Like this? The whole time?"

"No, that was lust back then," Snafu replies, "Didn't turn to love till after Okinawa."

Eugene gives up on proper dancing after that. He wraps his arms around Snafu's waist, drags his hands up his back - completely wrinkling his uniform, and hides his face in Snafu's neck.

"It might have taken me longer to figure out, but…" Eugene starts, "God, Snaf...I…"

"I know," Snafu says.

Eugene looks at Snafu to see if he can tell what exactly Snafu knows. And from the look on his face, Snafu sure as hell knows something.

"Dammit Snaf, whenever you smile at me like that it drives me crazy," Eugene says. He leans in, dangerously.

"I know," Snafu's grin only widens. He runs his hand up the inseam of Eugene's pants.

"If they catch us out here, I will probably be banned from all high society functions for life," Eugene warns.

"Good," Snafu says, "Don't like anybody but you here, anyway." He pops the button open on Eugene's pants.

"You're going to stop smiling before you get us both in trouble," Eugene adds.

"Sure, Gene," Snafu says, "Whatever you say, Gene." He bites his lip but he doesn't do a very good job of hiding his smile. Instead he sticks his hand down Eugene's pants.

Eugene grabs Snafu's hips roughly and shoves him up against the tree trunk behind them.

"Only one surefire way to get me to stop smiling," Snafu taunts.

Eugene laughs before kissing him silent. He presses Snafu into the tree bark as Snafu diligently works to get Eugene's pants off him.

They never do go back to the party, their clothes are too disheveled and Snafu is a little too tipsy. He leans against Eugene, and whispers seductive jokes in his ear as they walk slowly home.


End file.
